“David is very serious,” said Ducheny, echoing a description many others give about Alvarez. “The other big one, for me (is) actually caring about the constituents. Caring about getting people the answers and getting it done. Follow through.”

The personal journey

Alvarez’s parents came to the U.S. from Mexico and rented a small house on Newton Avenue between a mechanics shop and that chrome-plating plant. Every breath reminded him of his circumstances as pollution from the industrial businesses near his home he says gave him asthma.

Gang violence? He learned about that when his brother was shot in the leg during a drive-by. New clothes? Retail stores were out of the question, so his family shopped at garage sales in Clairemont and Point Loma, where he got glimpses of how other San Diegans lived.

At San Diego High School, Alvarez earned decent grades and excelled in math because he found the problem-solving satisfying. He also played in the marching band with a school-owned alto saxophone that had been used by generations of students.

He almost didn’t go to college. His parents, who never made it beyond third grade, viewed a high school degree as a pinnacle achievement; college was something other people did. Alvarez’s high school counselor disagreed and pushed him to apply to San Diego State. He got in.

National City Councilwoman Alejandra Sotelo-Solis, a family friend, said Alvarez later told her he felt a lot of pressure and responsibility from that moment forward. “He may be the youngest (of six siblings), but he takes the responsibility of a first child,” she said, adding that Alvarez’s widowed father now lives with him.

College showed him that you never know what doors open if you just try knocking. He presented his psychology research in Colorado. He used his math skills to rescue his middle school pal, a girl named Xochitl (pronounced SO-chee), from statistics. They started going out and eventually got married.

When he volunteered for a local political campaign, he caught the eye of Richard Barrera, now head of the Labor Council and board member of the San Diego Unified School District, who was then a community organizer.

“What struck me about David was both how bright he was, but also, really, his humility,” Barrera said. “This is not some hotshot kid going to college. He was very earnest, very much wanting to be engaged in work that was going to make the community better.”

Focusing on the man

Alvarez is selling himself more than anything else in his bid for mayor.

Until last week his campaign had yet to put out a detailed plan on any subject and spent most of its time telling his personal story and touting the support he’s received from prominent Democratic and labor groups. That may be because he doesn’t have the lengthy track record of his rivals.

What he does have is life experience similar to many who felt the brunt of the recent economic recession and ideals that promote helping the working poor, the homeless and the disenfranchised.